1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to recording and storing signals and, in particular, to recording and storing signals from multiple sources.
2. Description of Related Art
Currently, there exists a large number of analog and digital signals available for home use. Analog signals include conventional television signals that are typically sent directly to a home television receiver via cable, satellite, or terrestrial transmissions using analog standards such as NTSC, PAL, and SECAM. Other analog signals include RF signals, audio signals, and data streams. More recently, signals (both video and audio) are also being transmitted digitally, which have been encoded according to the MPEG (Moving Pictures Experts Group) standard.
Home networking allows these signals from multiple sources to be connected to and output from a single source, such as a television (monitor and speakers), so that consumers can receive a variety of entertainment and information on their television sets. However, not all signals are standardized in a common format, i.e., they are transmitted with different formats, thereby requiring different types of receivers or devices to receive and process the various signals to an appropriate output format. These devices can include set-top boxes (STBs), video cassette recorders (VCRs), satellite dishes, and cable boxes for receiving signals from transmission methods such as direct satellite service (DSS), microwave broadcast, cellular television (“wireless cable”), and television delivered via digital telephone phone lines. Further, as home television systems become more advanced and the number of signal sources that such systems can receive increases, situations may arise where signals from two or more sources are desired during simultaneous or overlapping time periods.
In these cases, different recording and storage devices are required for each signal source. For example, an analog video cassette recorder (VCR) can be used for recording analog video/audio signals, a tape, CD, MD, or solid state memory can be used for storing analog/digital audio and data, and a memory card and hard disk drive (HDD) can be used for storing and retrieving digital video, audio, and data. Thus, separate and differently formatted recording devices are needed to store and record one or more of the different signals simultaneously for later retrieval. As the number of different signal sources continues to increase, the number of separate recording and storage devices will also increase, thereby increasing both the size and cost of the home networking system.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a system for simultaneously recording and storing signals from multiple sources that overcomes the disadvantages discussed above associated with conventional systems.